Academic Advisors and Students with Disabilities: A National Survey of Advisors' Experiences and Needs

Abstract

During the last 25 years, the number of students with disabilities seeking higher education has tripled. However, these students may not readily identify their disability to those responsible for coordinating disability services. Consequently, academic advisors may be among the first campus employees to become aware of an individual's disability. We investigated the responses of collegiate academic advisors (N ≈ 1,500) regarding their training, experience, comfort level, and knowledge of working with students with disabilities. While 83% of advisors reported advising students with disabilities, only 44% had taken a college course dealing with disabilities, and 47% have had no training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many advisors also reported student disclosures of thoughts about suicide and self-harm. Relative Emphasis: research, practice, theory